Police Seek Kissimmee Clerk In Theft Of $31,000 From City

KISSIMMEE — An accounting clerk praised by her superiors for initiative and dependability is being sought in connection with $31,000 city officials say was embezzled from city accounts.

A police spokesman said an arrest warrant has been issued charging Margaret Davidson, 35, a city employee for three years, with first-degree grand theft.

Davidson was recommended for the city post by Commissioner Naomi Winbush, who said Davidson worked as a Osceola County school system bookkeeper and secretary. Winbush, the school system's director of special programs, was her supervisor.

''She was very well skilled; this is regrettable, because she had so much to offer,'' Winbush said.

Davidson had worked for the school district from August 1976 to February 1981.

She had taken a leave of absence from the city Sept. 5 and returned Oct. 3 to submit a letter of resignation from her $13,395-a-year job. She gave no reason for leaving.

Davidson began working for the city in May 1982, and received 5 percent merit raises on the three anniversaries of her hiring.

Her supervisors called her dependable and knowledgeable about her job and said she showed initiative.

She received a $114 bonus in August of 1984 for superior performance. Only about 10 percent of city employees received such a bonus.

Taking more than $20,000 is a first-degree grand theft charge, which is a second-degree felony; it is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in jail and a fine of $10,000.